Quiz: Zoo

Name These Mathematical Symbols in 6 Minutes

Jacqueline Samaroo

Image: Shutterstock

About This Quiz

Whether you loved or hated math when you were in school, math is a part of our everyday lives. Everyone needs to know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide to complete basic everyday skills such as calculating tips or measuring ingredients for that fancy cake you want to bake! Some mathematical symbols are easy to identify, plus signs, minus signs, equal signs, and division signs, are some of the most common mathematical symbols you should be able to recognize. However, you may have forgotten some of the other mathematical symbols you learned in school. For example, do you remember what brackets are used for or what an exponent looks like? Do you remember what PEMDAS stands for or how to use parentheses? Any idea what a spherical angle looks like or an arc? Can you draw the symbol for a parallel line or closed surface integral?

This quiz contains a mix mathematical symbols every math lover or scientist should know. A few of these symbols may seem easy to identify it, but most can stump some of the most qualified mathematicians. Think you can identify all of them? How quickly can you correctly identify them? Find out now by taking this quiz and then challenge your friends!

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Division

Unit vector

Less than

Arc

The division symbol of a line with two dots (one above and one below) is known as an obelus (plural: obeluses or obeli). In division, the terms "dividend", "divisor" and "quotient" represent the number being divided, how much it is being divided by and the result, respectively.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Caret (exponent)

Lemniscate

Closed surface integral

Right angle

The symbol for the closed surface integral is made up of a single closed loop and two integral symbols. It is related to the closed line integral, which has a single integral symbol, and the closed volume integral, which has three.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Cube Root

Lemniscate

Ray

Measured angle

Ancient mathematicians have long known and worked with cube roots. There is evidence of the calculation of cube roots by the Babylonians from as far back as 1800 BCE.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Greater than or equal to

Not equal

Line

Parallel

The term “not equal” indicates that the two amounts being considered are never the same. The terms “greater than” and “less than” are more specific ways to show that the two amounts are not equal. For the possibility that they may be equal at some point, the terms “less than or equal to” and “greater than or equal to” are used.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Times

Measured angle

Brackets

nabla/del

It takes at least two factors to make a product. Factors are the numbers that are multiplied and product is the result. The terms “multiplicand” and “multiplier” are also used to show which number is being multiplied (the multiplicand) and how many times (the multiplier).

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Percent

Delta function

Perpendicular

Minus

Numbers in a subtraction have particular names. They are minuend (the number that is to be subtracted from); subtrahend (the number subtracted); and difference (the result of subtracting). So, minuend − subtrahend = difference.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Greater than

Tilde

Ray

Square root

The “greater than” and “less than” signs should really be thought of as a single sign which changes meaning based on its orientation. The sign always opens up to the side that is more and points to the side that is less.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Less than

Degree

Sigma

Percent

The term “less than” is used to refer to quantities (for example, 6 is less than 7). The term “lesser than,” however, is used to refer to quality, meaning one thing is inferior to the other.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Less than or equal to

Brackets

Equals

pi

Brackets come in several forms and have various uses in Mathematics. The types of brackets include parentheses or "round brackets" ( ); "square brackets" or "box brackets" [ ]; braces or "curly brackets" { }; and "angle brackets" < >.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Greater than or equal to

Minus

Integral

Line

“Less than” and “greater than” are true inequalities in that the two things being compared by them are never equal. While we often refer to “less than or equal to” and “greater than or equal to” as inequalities, they are not, in the strict sense of the word.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Percent

Imaginary unit

Multiplication dot

nabla/del

The imaginary unit is defined as the square root of negative one (-1). Technically, it is the only imaginary number and it forms a complex number when multiplied by a real number (e.g. 5i).

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Laplace transform

Vector

Unit vector

Square root

The calculation and use of square roots can be traced to several different ancient civilizations. The use of the modern square root symbol, however, is first recorded in print in the 16th century.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Arc

Caret (exponent)

Delta

Angle

The caret (or inverted v) symbol is very useful when showing exponents in printed form. Exponents are typically written in superscript beside the base. The caret allows both the base and exponent to be placed on the same line with the number after the caret being the exponent.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Less than or equal to

Division

Equivalent

Imaginary Unit

Both “less than or equal to” and “greater than or equal to” contain a combination of two symbols. They are the inequality sign (either < or >) and the equal sign (=). In some cases, the lower line is slanted to match the inequality, while in other cases it is left flat.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Not equal

integral

Greater than

Percent

Bakers use the percent as a way to compare the amount of each ingredient to the amount of flour in a recipe. So, a recipe with 50% sugar does not mean sugar makes up half of the amount of ingredients but that the amount of sugar used is half the amount of flour used.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Multiplication dot

Power (exponent)

Congruent to

Delta function

The number being used in repeated multiplication is known as the base. The number of times it is used is called the power, exponent or index (plural: indices). Powers of 2, 3 and -1 have the special names of square, cube and reciprocal, respectively.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Parallel

Imaginary Unit

Parenthesis

Perpendicular

Although often used interchangeably with the term “brackets,” parentheses are regarded as actually meaning round brackets. That is, as opposed to square, curly or other types of brackets.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Asterisk

Greater than or equal to

Angle

Plus

The word “angle” refers to the amount of turn between two lines (or rays) that share a common end point. The lines are sometimes called the arms of the angle while the common end point is the vertex.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Tilde

Equals

Angle

Euler's number

The equal sign (written as a pair of horizontal lines) was invented by Welsh physician and mathematician Robert Recorde in 1557. Even into the 18th century, a pair of parallel vertical lines was also in use to indicate “equals.”

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Cube Root

Horizontal division line

Power (exponent)

Caret (exponent)

The horizontal division line, or fraction bar, is sometimes called a vinculum (although this is not strictly accurate). When a slant line is used between two numbers to show division, that line is referred to as a solidus.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Closed surface integral

Congruent to

Decimal point

Times

The decimal point is used to separate a number into its whole and fractional parts. While a point is used in many countries, in some countries a comma is used instead (for example: 23.58 would be written 23,58). There are also countries where an apostrophe is used instead of a point (23’58).

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

nabla/del

Less than

Arc

Sigma

If you select any two points on the circumference of a circle, they will divide the circumference into two arcs. When the two points are directly opposite each other, the arcs are equal in length. Otherwise, they are a major (longer) arc and minor (shorter) arc.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Decimal point

Delta function

Congruent to

Line segment

Line segments are generally identified by capital letters that name their end points. In coordinate geometry, however, this is taken a step further and the coordinates of the end points are considered necessary for identifying a line segment.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Measured angle

Brackets

Delta

Equals

There are many different ways to measure the size of an angle. By far, the two most frequently used measurements are the degree and the radian.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Lemniscate

Epsilon

Parallel

Caret (exponent)

Parallel lines go in the same direction, are always the same distance apart and never meet. The same is true for parallel curves and parallel planes.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Minus

Not equal

Power (exponent)

Ray

A ray is a part of line that has a starting point (represented by a dot). The ray goes on into infinity, without end. Interestingly, the name given to the starting point of a ray is “end point”.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Equivalent

Right angle

Vector

Division

A right angle, also called a quarter turn, measures exactly 90 degrees. Triangles that include a right angle are called right triangles.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

pi

Angle

Integral

Greater than

Pi, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, is an irrational number. It has a never-ending number of digits which go on with no perceivable pattern. It has been calculated to over 2 quadrillion digits.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Degree

Square root

Sigma

Line segment

Both uppercase and lowercase sigma have several meanings in Mathematics. Uppercase sigma is most commonly used to show summation, while lower case sigma is best known to mean standard deviation.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Plus

Less than

Delta

Congruent to

For two objects to be congruent they must be the same size and shape. That means one would fit perfectly over the other even if it needs to be flipped or rotated to do so.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Perpendicular

Integral

Spherical angle

pi

In Mathematics classes, finding derivatives of functions is often taught first and then finding the integrals is introduced as the reverse operation. The stylish “S” symbol for integral conveys the idea of finding a sum.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Vector

Parentheses

Less than or equal to

Greater than or equal to

A vector is an object that has a magnitude and direction. Vectors are not only useful in solving math equations, they are also used in various science disciplines such as physics and engineering.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Double integral

Lemniscate

Division

Epsilon

One type of lemniscate is also known as the Lemniscate of Bernoulli. It is usually used to represent infinity.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Unit vector

Horizontal division line

Sigma

Delta

Uppercase delta is most commonly used in Mathematics to show a change in a value. A river delta, in nature, is so named because of its triangular shape which resembles the letter.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Closed surface integral

Perpendicular

Imaginary Unit

Cube Root

Perpendicular lines meet at a right angle, that is, 90 degrees. While a small arc is normally drawn to shown the angle made by two lines, for perpendicular lines, the angle is denoted by a small box.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Euler's number

Line

Brackets

Parallel

Leonhard Euler (pronounced “oiler”) was an 18th century Swiss mathematician, astronomer, engineer, logician and physicist. Euler's number is just one of the many concepts named after him.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Ray

Laplace transform

Spherical angle

Asterisk

The Laplace transform was discovered by Pierre-Simon Laplace, a 19th century French scholar. His work in mathematical physics and astronomy led to his often being referred to as the French Newton.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Times

Power (exponent)

Measured angle

Epsilon

Epsilon is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet. Most persons who study Mathematics may associate lowercase epsilon with set theory, meaning “is a member of” or “is an element of."

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Double integral

Greater than

Cube Root

Less than or equal to

The double integral is a form of multiple integration. It is generally unaffected by the order of integration of the two variables.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Euler's number

Spherical angle

Times

Vector

A simple definition of a spherical angle is that it is the angle formed by two intersecting great circles on a sphere. More precisely, however, it is the angle formed by the planes that contain the great circles.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Equals

Minus

Square root

Tilde

The tilde is often written to mean “approximately” but has wider usage in several areas of Mathematics, including statistics. Outside of Mathematics, the tilde has a wide range of uses, such as changing a letter’s pronunciation in some languages.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Horizontal division line

Delta function

Euler's number

Not equal

Theoretical physicist Paul Dirac introduced this function. Hence it is sometimes called the Dirac delta function or Dirac’s delta function. In the strictest terms, however, the delta function is not a true function but more of a distribution.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Asterisk

Epsilon

Plus

Parentheses

In addition, the terms "augend" and "addend" are used for the numbers being added. The augend is the first number, while the addend is the second one. Most often, however, addend is used for both. The term "sum" is used for the result of addition.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Line segment

Parentheses

nabla/del

Closed surface integral

While the operation is called both nabla and del, the symbol is simply the nabla. It is the Greek word for a type of harp of that shape.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Unit vector

Multiplication dot

Plus

Laplace transform

While all vectors have a magnitude (length) and direction, unit vectors are special in that they have a length of 1. A unit vector is normally named be a common letter with a ^ placed over the letter.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Double integral

Laplace transform

Right angle

Degree

The use of 360 as the total number of degrees in a full rotation (a circle) has been traced back to several ancient civilizations. It is thought to be linked to their use of a base sixty, sexagesimal, system.

Which mathematical symbol is shown here?

Line

pi

Tilde

Horizontal division line

Although, by definition, a line has no width, this is not how it is in practice. Even the thinnest line you draw, will have a thickness – no matter how minute!

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